“The next one will be an intergalactic journey. It’ll be [set] maybe a year or two later, not 20 years [on]. I want to maintain this group of people, especially the young characters, and Jeff [Goldblum] and Brent [Spiner] will take part in it. It’ll be fun to keep that group together. I imagine them now going in one of these ships they’ve rebuilt into a wormhole. I think it’ll be the classic of going into space but it has to be about Earth, and we have a really good idea for that.”

Mike Fleming Jr wrote:EXCLUSIVE: As the Roland Emmerich-directed sci-fi sequel Independence Day: Resurgence kicks off the first weekend of summer box office in North America today, Universal Pictures has closed a deal for the filmmaker's next epic-sized sci-fi picture.

The studio has been in the mix on the script along with Sony Pictures and Fox, both of which have made successful big-canvas films with Emmerich. This one is best described as Emmerich’s 2012 mashed together with Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, following an unlikely band of misfits who must unite to save humanity when the moon falls out of orbit and hurtles towards earth.

Mike Fleming Jr wrote:EXCLUSIVE: Indie film financier-producer Audax has closed a deal for Moonfall, a spec script by David Weil. Audax had company for a film that centers on an FBI agent who travels to a moon colony to investigate its very first death.

Moon 44 is a 1990 English-language German science fiction action film from Centropolis Film Productions, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Michael Paré and Lisa Eichhorn alongside Brian Thompson and Malcolm McDowell. The film is set on a futuristic mining site on an unspecific moon, where convicts and teenage technicians are partnered. An undercover agent (Paré) must discover what has happened to missing corporate shuttles.

Borys Kit wrote:After a bidding war among four studios, Universal has picked up "Earth vs. Moon," a pitch from scribes Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, for Scott Stuber to produce.

The deal was in the mid- to high-six figures.

The plot details for what is being described as a sci-fi epic are being kept under wraps.

The acquisition marks the first for Stuber since the departure of partner Mary Parent, who last month became chairman of MGM's motion picture group. Stuber is production on "The Wolf Man," starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins and being directed by Joe Johnston.

The duo created and executive produced Spike TV's "The Joe Schmo Show," which eventually sold as an international format in the U.K., France, Spain and other countries. They are writing and executive producing "Zombieland," set up at Sony with Gavin Polone producing.

Reese also was a writer on Pixar's "Monsters, Inc.," and Wernick earned three Emmys for his work in TV news.

Wernick and Reese are repped by Endeavor and attorneys John Farrell and Ken Richman.

Patrick Frater wrote:Iconic Japanese comic book property “Lone Wolf and Cub: Final Conflict” is to be made as a live action, English language movie by producer Steven Paul’s SP International Pictures.

The company acquired remake and sequel rights Koike Kazuo Gekiga Sonjuku, Inc., who produced the motion picture “Kozure Okami: Sono Chisaki Te Ni” in 1993. It plans a remake that will shoot from 2017. The “Lone Wolf and Cub” property first emerged in 1970 as a comic book written by Koike Kazuo and illustrated by Goseki Kojima. Their stories were subsequently adapted as six feature movies starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four stage plays and a TV series.

“Final Conflict” sees a noble samurai plotted against and framed in an assassination conspiracy the samurai disobeys his Shogun’s orders and becomes an assassin for hire. “I have been a huge fan of the property for many years and can’t tell you how excited I am to have the opportunity to embark on this journey,” Pau said in a statement.

Los Angeles-based Paul has become a major axis between Hollywood and Japan. He previously produced Marvel Comic’s “Ghost Rider 1 & 2” and Namco Bandai’s “Tekken 1 & 2.” He is currently producing a live action adaptation of the manga comic “Ghost In The Shell” starring Scarlett Johansson and Takeshi Kitano. Paramount Pictures distributing the feature film worldwide.

Paul’s “Ghost in the Shell” project has been criticized by some fans for racially inappropriate casting, notably with Johansson playing an originally Asian woman. Paul told Variety that “Final Conflict” will be shot with an essentially Japanese cast. Paul has recently struck production deals in both China and Thailand.

His related SP Releasing is a theatrical distributor releasing up to 10 movies per year and maintains a worldwide home entertainment deal with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. This summer SP Releasing will be theatrically distributing “Running Wild” starring Sharon Stone, and releasing ‘The Dog Lover” with James Remar, Lea Thompson, Jayson Blair, Allison Paige and directed by Alex Ranarivelo.

MATT GOLDBERG wrote:The Legend of Tarzan is also impressing at the box office. The movie made $14 million on Friday and is now looking at a four-day weekend that could come in as high as $45 million. That’s not bad considering the lackluster reviews or that Alexander Skarsgard isn’t exactly a household name. It also received an A- CinemaScore. However, the $45 million opening isn’t much when you look at $180 million price tag, so the film will definitely need some overseas help.

In a move just weeks before the actress stars in Suicide Squad, Universal has optioned the rights to Bad Monkeys, a novel by Matt Ruff, to act as a Robbie vehicle.

She is attached to star and also will produce via her LuckyChap Entertainment banner. Also producing are Bluegrass Films’ Scott Stuber (Central Intelligence) and Dylan Clark (War of the Planet of the Apes).

Ruff’s 2008 novel centers on a woman named Jane Charlotte, who has been arrested for murder. She denies the charges, saying she is part of a secret organization devoted to fighting evil, Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons, aka Bad Monkeys.

This confession lands her in the jail’s psychiatric wing, where she is probed by professionals. The twisty story is meant to keep you guessing whether Jane is crazy, sane or a liar, with many things not as they seem.

LuckyChap’s Josey McNamara will serve as executive producer. Universal executive vp Jon Mone will oversee production on behalf of the studio, while Nicholas Nesbitt will oversee on behalf of Bluegrass.

Robbie, currently onscreen as Jane in The Legend of Tarzan, also stars in Suicide Squad, which is tracking for one of the biggest debuts this summer ahead of its Aug. 5 opening. The actress plays DC villainess Harley Quinn, one of the most popular characters in the DC stable, and her portrayal has been creating buzz since last year.

Warner Bros. is so impressed with Robbie’s take on the character that it already is developing a spinoff movie, which she would also produce, marking her growing clout as she creates projects for herself. She is expected to show up at Saturday's Suicide Squad panel at Comic-Con.

It’s about a woman named Jane Charlotte who’s been arrested for murder. She admits to the crime, but she also claims to belong to a secret organization that fights evil. The way the organization keeps itself secret is by running its affairs along the lines of a schizophrenic delusion -- for example, operatives’ orders are hidden in the daily crossword, or encoded in song selections on the radio -- so if you try and tell anybody about it, they think you’re crazy.

Sure enough, this confession gets Jane sent to the psychiatric wing of the city jail. The novel is her in a room with a shrink, telling the story of how she first crossed paths with the organization, how she was recruited to work for Bad Monkeys, which is what they call their execution squad, and how it all went wrong.

In the planning stages, you called Bad Monkeys “a Philip K. Dick-style novel.” Philip K. Dick isn’t around to give his take on it -- unless he suddenly starts shooting pink beams from VALIS, which would make everything insanely complicated -- but, now that Bad Monkeys is finished and going out into the world, what do you think Phil Dick would think of your new novel?

Well, given that my protagonist is named after Dick’s twin sister, who died in infancy, and with whom Dick was obsessed even though he’d never known her, I think he might be a little peeved.

Beyond that, our sensibilities differ enough that I’m not sure he’d be into me. At heart I’m a realist: I believe there’s one universe for all of us, and if it often seems otherwise, it’s because we’re all working from incomplete information. This doesn’t stop me from embracing outrageous fantasy scenarios, but I like my outrageous fantasy to have rules, and I’m a stickler for logical coherence -- I think it’s fine if a story leaves you guessing what’s true and what’s false, but I need to believe that an answer is possible.

With Dick, I think coherence and consistency are much lower priorities. He’s more about taking you into a weird headspace and posing questions for which even hypothetical answers are not required.

John Nugent wrote:Director Justin Lin is currently doing the promotional rounds for Star Trek Beyond. But when Empire chatted to him for an upcoming spoiler special podcast, we couldn’t resist asking about another project the filmmaker has bubbling away: a long-mooted adaptation of the acclaimed manga comic Lone Wolf And Cub.

Lin has been attached to the project for some time, and had planned to press ahead with the adaptation, before J.J. Abrams came a-calling. “For the last year and a half I've been on this Star Trek detour,” Lin explained to us, “the greatest detour of my career. But I'm excited because Lone Wolf And Cub is one of many projects that I can't wait to go back and revisit in the next two weeks when we're done with all the press.”

Lin appeared to imply that he plans to have an Asian cast. “Five-to-ten years ago, they would have wanted Keanu Reeves to play the dad... I think the cool thing about it is that filmmaking has gone global. There's many ways to make a movie and I think Hollywood has to evolve.”

First published in 1970 by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima, Lone Wolf And Cub is widely regarded as a classic manga, telling an epic historic tale of shogun assassins. Seven films adapting the series have already been produced in its native Japan, but nothing from Hollywood – until now.

Lin is convinced that “this is the best time to make a movie like Lone Wolf And Cub – and to be able to really embrace the spirit and the essence of what makes it great.”

Until then, the director has to get Star Trek Beyond out the door – that’s due for a July 22 release – and he has plenty of other projects to keep him occupied, including his rumoured return to the Fast & Furious series that made his name. Plenty to keep him – ahem – Linterested.

The studio, which was co-financing the movie with Skydance, was in the prep stages for a January 2017 production start and Christopher McQuarrie, who is back on directing duties after reinvigorated the franchise with the fifth installment, is writing the script.

Sources tell THR that one of the contentious points is Cruise's back-end profit participation, with the actor looking to match or exceed what he is getting paid by Universal for starring in The Mummy, which he is currently shooting in London. Mummy is a pivotal movie for Universal, which is looking to launch a cinematic franchise and has hinged plenty on Cruise’s star power.

This is the second hiccup this summer for Mission: Impossible 6. In July, the project threatened to fall apart over what one source said was script issues. That obstacle pushed a November start into the new year.

Paramount initially wanted Mission: Impossible 6 for a late 2017 release but it is currently undated.

Josh Lyons wrote:Temple Hill Entertainment has acquired the film rights to acclaimed 2013 picture book JOURNEY by Aaron Becker and has attached Monster House screenwriter Pamela Pettler to adapt the script. Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey are producing for Temple Hill with Jaclyn Huntling. Producers are still working to package the project before taking out to buyers.

The story, described as being in the vein of The Chronicles of Narnia and Alice in Wonderland, centers on a lonely girl who draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free.

Becker’s Journey, which notably contains no words with the story instead being told entirely through his illustrations, is the first in a wordless trilogy which also includes Quest and Return. Becker has worked as an illustrator for animated features, as well, including The Polar Express, Cars, and the aforementioned Monster House – also scripted by Pettler.

In addition to Monster House, Pettler’s credits include the animated features Corpse Bride and 9. Pettler previously worked on a draft of the Monopoly movie that’s in development with Hasbro and Lionsgate. She is also attached to re-team with director Tim Burton for a reboot of The Addams Family and is working with J.J. Abrams on the animated comedy The Flamingo Affair.

Temple Hill’s recent releases include Paper Towns, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, and Martyrs. The company also produced the highly-anticipated Power Rangers movie for Lionsgate, set to hit theaters in 2017.

Anya Crittenton wrote:Quinn and League are reportedly planning a big push for Colossal, which is how they were able to beat out competitors A24. It also doesn’t hurt that Quinn has a relationship with Colossal’s executive producer Choi Pyung Ho, as Ho also produced Snowpiercer, which Radius was involved with.

The film, which is set for a 2017 release, stars Anne Hathaway as an alcoholic who learns she can control a monster in Seoul, South Korea, after she loses both her job and her boyfriend and moves back home.

Jack Giroux wrote:Mute is set in a dystopian Berlin. Skarsgård will play a mute bartender named Leo, while Rudd will play a mysterious American surgeon. Sam Rockwell is also set to appear in the film. The significance of his part is unknown, but he’ll serve as a bridge between Moon and Mute, reprising his role as Sam Bell and connecting the two worlds. If you want to know more about the plot of Mute, here’s the official synopsis:

Berlin. Forty years from today. A roiling city of immigrants, where East crashes against West in a science-fiction Casablanca. Leo Beiler (Skarsgard), a mute bartender has one reason and one reason only for living here, and she’s disappeared. But when Leo’s search takes him deeper into the city’s underbelly, an odd pair of American surgeons (led by Rudd) seem to be the only recurring clue, and Leo can’t tell if they can help, or who he should fear most.

Kate Erbland wrote:You’ve kept your passion for “Warcraft” going, but it does seem to have gotten in the way of making “Mute,” another passion project for you. How are you keep your momentum going for that film?

I think it’s a personality type. I think you have to be the kind of person who is like a dog with a bone. You can’t let go of things until you’ve seen them through to completion. Not everyone has got that kind of mindset. Maybe it’s not the healthiest mindset, because you do kind of have to be dogged about things, but I wanted to see “Warcraft” through, and I wanted it to be the best film that I knew that we could make. I’ve always wanted to make “Mute,” and I’ve been on “Mute” for about 14 years. I’m determined, no matter what happens, I’m going to get that movie made, at some point.

Would you say that you’re closer than ever to getting it made?

Yeah. Absolutely, 100%. I wish I could formally say, “Yes, it’s happening,” but there are contractual reasons I have to wait until the absolute yes-I’m-allowed-to-say-that date, but as far as I’m concerned, yes. I’m going to be shooting that film later this year.

The film takes place in the “Moon” universe, right?

Yeah, in the Moon-iverse.

You originally wanted to do a trilogy, do you hope to do your next Moon-iverse film after “Mute”?

Yes. In fact, it’s already written. It’s ready to go. I was trying to make it after “Source Code.” It’s a female lead, and at that time, four of five years ago, it was just proving really difficult to get the film made, this science fiction film with a female lead.

It feels like it’s going to be easier these days. I think there’s more of a willingness for that to happen, and I certainly think it’s about time, but Mute’s kind of happening now, so I’m going to do that, and then, with any luck, I’ll be able to get this other film made that will make up the third part of that trilogy, as soon as possible.

Emily J wrote:The film is set on a lonely spaceship orbiting Neptune as a man fulfills his dream to rebuild his dead wife and their son as androids, but when the android begin demanding a life of their own, his life is suddenly in danger and a battle of wits and strength ensues. Paul and Kurylenko will play the central couple.

Borys Kit wrote:Martin Wallstrom, one of the stars of USA's Mr. Robot, has signed on to star in Parallel, a sci-fi indie from Bron Media Corp and Bellevue Productions.

Isaac Ezban is directing the feature, which follows four young app entrepreneurs who discover a mirror in the attic of their rental house that's a portal to parallel universes, with a time differential that makes it possible for them to access the future of these alternate worlds and bring it back home.

Wallstrom will play the leader of the group, who uses the time warp to make a fortune off of tech that doesn’t yet exist in their present world.

Scott Blaszak wrote the script. John Zaozirny, Aaron Gilbert and Garrick Dion are producing the pic.

The Swedish-born Wallstrom plays the conflicted bad guy Tyrell Wellick on Mr. Robot, currently one of TV’s cult hits. The actor recently wrapped production on the Soviet drama Ashes in the Snow with Bel Powley.

Angie Han wrote:The parting between Miller and Deadpool 2 is reportedly amicable, and in fact, Miller already has another 20th Century Fox project lined up. With Deadpool 2 off his to-do list, he’ll dive right into Influx, written by Mark Bomback and based on David Suarez’s novel. The film is expected to be the first in a trilogy.

Guy Lodge wrote:Any habitual McDonald’s diner knows that their burgers are nothing without the pickle. The nominal beef patty tastes more like an evocation of meat than an honest slab of steer, and there’s no secret weapon in that cheap, cotton-wool bun. But it’s those two sharp, green slices of vinegary tang, set in relief by a sweet smear of ketchup, that really contain all the brand’s essential flavor. By the same token, it’s the dash of pickle in Robert Siegel’s script — a streak of sour, cheek-puckering cynicism amid its warmer, blander conventions — that gives “The Founder” its mojo. A ruefully titled biopic of Ray Kroc — the man who didn’t found McDonald’s but ruthlessly made it what it is — John Lee Hancock’s glowingly crafted, smartly acted film largely holds the cheese. It spins a classical tale of underdog entrepreneurship and American Dream-chasing with one eccentric twist: Its chief hero and villain are the same person.

Whether audiences will respond en masse to a film that slides so much corrosive irony beneath its gleaming, awards-season veneer remains to be seen. Not since “Steve Jobs” has such a bright prestige spotlight been granted to such a nakedly venal protagonist, played by Michael Keaton with an easy, puppy-eating grin and unhinged salesman’s patter that makes his narcissistically self-pitying character from “Birdman” look positively cuddly by comparison.

Mike Fleming Jr wrote:After years of developing the Philip Reeve book series Mortal Engines, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh have set the project at MRC and Universal, with their Hobbit VFX protege Christian Rivers making his feature directorial debut. Production will begin next spring in New Zealand. MRC and Universal will co-finance what they hope will spark another potential franchise for Jackson and Walsh, who adapted the script with Philippa Boyens, their writing partner on both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Scholastic published the first book in 2001 and four followed in the sci-fi fantasy series.

Reeve’s book has a storyline that sounds a bit like Mad Max: Fury Road; only here, it’s the geography that moves in a post apocalyptic world. It’s a distant future where the cities of earth roam the globe on huge wheels, consuming smaller towns and processing all reusable materials to create power to run the engines that make the cities mobile and able to gobble up more and more of the planet’s dwindling resources. London’s mayor has bigger plans than the domination of a small town and several young people try to stop him. Universal will distribute worldwide. Ken Kamins, longtime manager of Jackson, Walsh and Boyens, brought the book to MRC, which now has another big post apocalyptic franchise to go along with its Sony-based adaptation of the Stephen King novel series The Dark Tower. Zane Weiner, Amanda Walker and Deborah Forte will produce along with Walsh and Jackson, while Kamins will exec produce and Boyens will be co-producer.

Said Rivers: “Mortal Engines is one of those stories that was made for the big screen. A fantastical, futuristic world that has to be seen to be believed. At its heart though, it’s a beautiful love story and a richly complex character driven adventure. To be the director who gets to bring Philip Reeve’s incredible universe to life is a dream come true.”

Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley called the filmmakers “all visionary storytellers with the gift of turning their passion projects into beloved blockbusters for a worldwide audience. The studio is proud of our longstanding relationship with MRC and these tremendous filmmakers, and we are looking forward to collaborating on this cinematic re-imagination of Philip’s bold and fantastical novel.”

SilenceDelugeFencesLong Live the KingKong: Skull Island (2 scenes)A Cure for Wellness (with introduction by actor Dane DeHaan and Director Gore Verbinski)Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (clips)Brigadoon"Pimpernel" SmithThe Adventures of Robin HoodZachariahLogan (first 40 minutes followed by Q&A with Director James Mangold)Hard Boiled-----------------------------------I still love the general concept of this festival. Really, it seems like a lot of fun. But another aspect of the early years was Harrys interactions with the visitors to his site. He would constantly post in the Talkbacks and engage with people. His financial troubles killed a lot of goodwill with them and he has done nothing to help mend those fractures. Ten years ago I would have loved to attend to put faces to all of the names - the names of the AICN staff, the Talkbackers, Zoners, and even an actor or two. And then there were the exclusive premieres. And then, on top of all that, there were the eclectic films he'd pull out.

Now I feel I could put on just as good of a show between Netflix, Amazon Prime, and my cable On-Demand.

I wish Harry would take care of whatever he needs to take care of.I miss the excitement behind his festival.

I still enjoy the Fake List. I watched 3/4 of his fake list one year. Had a blast doing it, too.

Achievement Unlocked: TOTAL DOMINATION (Win a Werewolf Game without losing a single player on your team)

Fievel wrote:I still love the general concept of this festival. Really, it seems like a lot of fun. But another aspect of the early years was Harrys interactions with the visitors to his site. He would constantly post in the Talkbacks and engage with people. His financial troubles killed a lot of goodwill with them and he has done nothing to help mend those fractures. Ten years ago I would have loved to attend to put faces to all of the names - the names of the AICN staff, the Talkbackers, Zoners, and even an actor or two. And then there were the exclusive premieres. And then, on top of all that, there were the eclectic films he'd pull out.

Now I feel I could put on just as good of a show between Netflix, Amazon Prime, and my cable On-Demand.

I wish Harry would take care of whatever he needs to take care of.I miss the excitement behind his festival.

I still enjoy the Fake List. I watched 3/4 of his fake list one year. Had a blast doing it, too.

Years ago one of our own (JohnLocke) went to a BNaT and posted some pics and stories, and seemed like a blast. I too, thought long and hard about attending the year after that one, but all it takes one look at costs, being a married man with kids (back then I think my first daughter was 2) the costs just outweighed the desire.